Three Graduations and a Baby Shower!

Happy Memorial Day! Like most people this weekend, we had a busy memorial weekend. We enjoyed it all the way though! On Saturday we had to meet with Abe's sisters and Mom to finalize plans for our rehearsal dinner at the Hilton in White Marsh. It will be August 9, from 1:30 to 4:30. Our rehearsal itself is at the church starting at noon I believe. Then we came home for like a second before heading out to Owings Mills to attend a graduation party for Three grads! Jenny from Towson, with an M.S. in Early Childhood Ed., Ryan from UMBC with a B.S. in Bio/Chem/Pre-Med, and Gabi from Franklin High with a High School degree! It was a lot of fun and Alex got to meet a lot of Jewish people.LOL. We had a great time. It was so nice to see Jenny and for her to see Alex. She snapped a picture of her boyfriend holding him, and joked that now she has proof that he can. LOL. She told me we have to wait 5 years to have another one, because that's when they'll be ready and we have to have kids together! Not sure if we can wait that long, or if we want Alex to be that far apart from # 2. We'll see where life takes us though. I am so proud of Jenny earning her Master's. I can't wait to start on mine. I took a much needed break from schooling, but I think I'm finally ready to start again next Fall or Spring. I have a lot of options for my Masters,but I keep coming back to Administration and Supervision, so we'll see. Moving right along--On Sunday, we attended the baby BBQ for Baby Dove in Pasadena. Our new little niece or nephew will be here around July 18, and we are all very excited to see whether it's a boy or girl! I'm thinking Girl, but I thought Girl with Alex, so only time will tell. I think we'll all just be happy to get another healthy baby added to the family. It was beautiful weather though. And everyone was able to eat some good hamburgers and hotdogs and spend some time outside. We went down to Lake Waterford, and Dylan, Daniel and Aaron fished using hotdogs as bait! LOL. Needless to say, they didn't bring back the catch of the day. We put Alex in his snugli and the poor little thing was so exhausted that by the time we got  him back to the pavilion he was slumped over asleep in the snugli! He slept all the way back home. Then today, we went down to David's Bridal to get Maria's dress, but they said there had been a fire, and we weren't allowed inside! So we came back to Abe's Mom's and ate Quiznos instead. Now all that's left to be done is some laundry and some dinner and then it's back to Middle School for me, back to UMBC for Abe, and back to Ms. Thresa's Daycare for Alex. 12 more days of school left...*SIGH* Some pics follow for your enjoyment!

Alex in his special graduation outfit!

Alex in his special baby shower outfit!

A family shot

Matthew posing down by the lake

Me, Mary, a sleeping Alex, and Baby Dove

And he's out...

Ms.Medy (Abe's Mom) and Ms. Kathy (Dave's Mom)

Daniel and Dylan trying to catch some fish

The three amigos

Alex resting in his swing after his big weekend!

 

Did you watch Idol Last night? <- From Abe

Last night was the results show on American Idol, and apparently the best they could get for last night was Fantasia Barrino...

....I know, right?

Anyways, her performance...oh man. What can i say. Actually, Simon's face really said it all -



Aside from bopping her head like a chicken while she was screeching and "dancing", Ashley and I couldn't stop laughing, even Alex had a shocking look to his face! Just watching her performance wore me out, I needed a breather! At the end of her performance Ashley and I just looked each other and said "OMG what just happened?"

I want to find the video on YouTube, but I'd be afraid I'd laugh too hard and fall out of my chair. I can't do that to myself...

Ok maybe I will! Check it out -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x9QJWY2gp4

(if the video doesn't show, search for "fantasia bore me results show)

My First Mother's Day!

I celebrated my very first mother's day today, so I thought I would reflect on recently joining motherhood. You never know what your mother truly means to you until you have one of your own. It's true. I always appreciated my mother and grandmother and everything they did for us, but my appreciation  for them has reached a whole new level now, because I know how much they loved me. I love my son that much, and unless you're a mother, I don't think you can understand it. It's amazing how quickly it happens---as soon as I saw him, I loved him more than anything. What's really special is that once you become a mother, no one can ever take that away form you.You will always be someone's Mom--even when you're gone. Alex has only been here 2 months, and I don't remember my life without him. He's been the best surprise I've ever had! It's awesome to watch him grow and change from day to day. So, enough of the mushy stuff--Let's talk about presents! When I woke up this morning, Abe told me he still had to go to Wal-mart to get my present. I was so mad! LOL. But then he came back like 5 minutes later with presents in hand. He had been keeping them in his car. I held Alex in my lap while I opened them. They got me a cute picture frame for my desk at work, a really cool mini-photo album for my millions of Alex pictures, and a bigger photo album to match that has different size photos in it--slots for 8x10's, 5x7's, and 4x6's. It's really cool. I loved my presents. Then Abe's Mom got me a Hydrangea plant, and some Petunias. Maria got me a beautiful light purple Azalea bush. And Mary got me a cute scrapbooking kit. Now I just have to get to work on the gardening and the scrapbooking! But first, laundry is calling my name. Until next time...

Such a handsome little man!

Me with Alex and my Mother's Day presents--Nevermind the fact that I look like a beast in the morning!

Back to Work...

It's finally Friday!!! Halleluiah! What a long week it was! I went back to work on Monday--Alex's two month birthday. Upon my return, I found out that a good majority of my students were failing in my absence, so I've spent all week catching them back up. The kids were generally happy to see me, but I think they realized playtime was over once I rolled back in the door. Stricker has come down with a case of "Spring Fever", and ALL of my kids are affected.They have been crazy. I've confiscated floam, tiny little skateboards,cell phones, ipods, an array of origami weapons, and even a sock filled with paper that a kid was hitting others with. Melinda and Mike are the only ones that keep me sane, and only because we find everything utterly hilarious. Working in a middle school is an endless barrell of laughs. I missed Alex so much that first day though! It got a little easier as the week progressed, but man that first day was rough! I put his picture up on my desk, and just stared at it. I also brought in a picture book to show the kids, and found myself flippin through it all day. I felt naked without him in my arms Monday, because we had never been apart since he was born. As soon as I came home, I started making dinner. (Fried Chicken and potatoes) I usually sit Alex in his bouncer in the living room while cooking, but Monday I sat him in his high chair, so I could see him at all times! I think I'm counting down the days more than the kids are. They wrote the countdown huge on board on Wednesday and instead of erasing it,like I usually do. I corrected it and made it darker! LOL. 22 more days until  get to spend all summer with my baby boy!! On a side note, my first Mother's Day is coming up on Sunday, and it truly is my first, because I didn't get pregnant with Alex until sometime in late June/early July. Needless to say, I'm excited and proud to be a Mom.

                                           

        Alex in his high chair after his first day of daycare!

Call me partial, but he's probably the cutest baby ever born!